Various self-contained drainage catheter assemblies have been known in the prior art. Such drainage catheter assemblies typically comprise flexible catheters having plastic collection bags connected thereto. The flexible catheter is insertable into a body orifice or passageway (e.g., urethra) such that fluid may drain through the lumen of the catheter and into the attendant collection bag.
Examples of drainage catheter assemblies of the prior art are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,652,259 (O'Neill) and 5,147,341 (Starke et al).
Although the self-contained drainage catheter assemblies of the prior art have become commonly used in clinical practice, especially for intermittent or long term catheterization of the urinary bladder, these prior art-drainage catheter assemblies have been of designs and configurations which are less than optimal for all applications. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for the development of improved self-contained drainage catheter assemblies which incorporate modified designs and configurations to provide improved operability and ease of use, at least in certain patient types and/or certain clinical situations.